Athlete of the week: Ellie Black

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July 14, 2013

Artistic gymnast Ellie Black is Canada’s first multi-medallist of the 27thSummer Universiade in Kazan, Russia after winning a pair of individual apparatus medals. Competing against some of the world’s best gymnasts, Black tied for silver on floor exercise behind reigning world champion Kseniia Afanaseva of Russia. She also took bronze on beam behind China’s Zhang Yelinzi and Russian superstar Aliya Mustafina, a quadruple medallist at London 2012 and former world all-around champion.

Black also posted a pair of fourth place finishes, missing the podium in the individual all-around by two-tenths of a point and coming up just 0.088 shy of the bronze medal on vault. Black was the only member of the Canadian women’s artistic gymnastics team that achieved a best-ever Olympic result of fifth place at London 2012 to compete in Kazan.

Canada had not entered the women’s artistic gymnastics competition at the multi-sport event for university student-athletes since 1999. The last artistic gymnastics medals won by Canadian women at the Universiade were back in 1983 when Anita Botnen won bronze on the beam and the team also won bronze in Edmonton.

The 17-year-old Black will begin her first year at Dalhousie University in September. Her next big athletic challenge will be the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, September 30 to October 6. Follow: @EllieBlack_, @CANGymnastics

History will be made in 2016 when Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosts the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, marking the first time that a South American country will welcome the world to an Olympic Games. It is also just the third time that the Games will be held in the southern hemisphere, following Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000.